A review by booksandbujos
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this look! So cute, so cozy, so low stakes! It, much like Legends and Lattes, had a very nostalgic feeling, reminding me of books I read as a child and preteen where the worst thing that will happen is so small stakes. It’s nice sometimes when it’s just an impact for one person and not a whole world impact. 

 

I really love Mika as a character and how spunky and fun she was. I enjoyed that, even though she had growing and learning to do, it wasn’t in terms of her magic. She was confident and fully capable of magic, which I loved to see. The self-doubt then came in other aspects of her life and self, but she still had something she knew she was good at. 

Then there’s the Jamie and Mika of it all, which was just so good. They had a nice, slight enemies to lovers. I loved watching Jamie warm to her and work through their respective traumas and grow into stronger, more self-assured individuals.

 

The end, particularly the Jamie and Mika conflict, was resolved a little quickly for me. Like one day she was really mad, as Jamie and the others at Nowhere House had done the one thing Mika is the most sensitive about, and keep her outside their inner circle of trust while claiming she was a part of the house, and then Jamie shows up, says he’s sorry and it’s all better… not the biggest fan of that but it was a reasonably small part and I was already in love with the story by that part so it didn’t really bother me that much.